What to know about safeguarding phone data while traveling
The Trump administration cited electronic data, found while examining cellphones, as reason to detain and deport U.S. residents or tourists under its escalating anti- immigration policies.
Why it matters: While electronic checks make up a small percentage of border interactions, people can take measures to generally safeguard their phones and personal information while traveling.
"When you're traveling, you really do want to be mindful that there are people that want access to your data and they have ways of getting access to that," said Randy Rose, the Center for Internet Security's vice president of security operations and intelligence.
State of play: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has the authority to conduct warrantless device searches at the border, including in international airports, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
"Border agents cannot deny a U.S. citizen admission to the country," an EFF digital privacy guide said. "However, if a foreign visitor declines, an agent may deny them entry.
"If a lawful permanent resident declines, agents may raise complicated questions about their continued status as a resident."
Courts in the U.S. have issued different rulings on device searches at ports of entry, the Verge reported.
Zoom in: Rose said he recommends deleting sensitive information such as licenses, credit card information or photos of children from phones before traveling.
"Just assume that phone is not going to be yours at some point during your trip," he said. "What are you comfortable with somebody else having access to?"
Zoom out: General security practices include avoiding open wifi networks, which could potentially be unsecured, and not plugging phones into power adapters rather than directly into USB ports, Rose said.
Travelers can set up virtual private networks (VPNs) to encrypt personal data and mask a user's location, he said.
"The internet was not built with security in mind," he said. "It was built for open communication, and over time we've tacked security on."
Between the lines: Law enforcement can require people to unlock their cellphones with facial recognition and fingerprint identification, but not with numerical passcodes.
"A police officer cannot make you input your passcode/password to unlock your cellphone because doing so would force you to produce the contents of your mind, according to Berry Law in Nebraska and Iowa, "The Fifth Amendment protects against this type of self-incrimination."
Providing fingerprints is not considered a "testimonial act," per ESS Law Partners in Houston. Sharing a passcode reveals "explicit knowledge" and is therefore testimonial.
By the numbers: U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted 47,047 searches of electronic devices, which made up fewer than 0.01% of arriving passengers in fiscal year 2024.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Which country has the most visitors impacted by Trump's travel restrictions?
Which country has the most visitors impacted by Trump's travel restrictions? South Florida, home to large Venezuelan, Haitian and Cuban communities, will be hit hard by Trump's travel ban Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump bans travel from several countries around the world President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that bans travel from 12 countries and restricts seven others. Reaction to President Donald Trump's new travel bans was swift in South Florida, home to what are believed to be the largest Venezuelan, Haitian and Cuban communities in the United States. "I am deeply concerned by this decision which further divides us as Americans and harms hardworking families contributing to the essential fabric of our community," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a June 5 social media post. "The work of our federal government should be to protect our borders and pass comprehensive immigration reform, not tear down our communities." Trump's proclamation, signed on June 4, takes effect June 9. The administration cited security reasons for the bans on travelers from a dozen countries and restrictions on those from seven others. It prohibits entry into the U.S. of foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Travel restrictions, including suspensions, will be placed on those from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Of the nearly 1.7 million visas issued to people from those countries between 2014 and 2023, almost half were from Venezuela. They reunited with family, shopped and visited Disney World and other theme parks and attractions, according to recent media and social media accounts. Venezuelans and Haitians speak out against the travel ban The proclamation suspends entry into the United States for Venezuelan nationals with temporary work, study and tourist visas. "Venezuela lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures," the proclamation said. It also mentioned the overstay rate on visas from the country is nearly 10%. A mother from Venezuela who moved to South Florida six years ago told CBS News she's unsure whether her adult son, who remains in the South American country, will be allowed to visit her. The announcement also prompted concern among bloggers who write about Disney parks in California and Florida, who questioned the impact the restrictions could have on the thousands who visit the parks each year from Venezuela. Members of South Florida's Haitian community also spoke out about the ban. More than 230,000 native Haitians live in the metropolitan area, roughly 4% of the region's population, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Marleine Bastien, who was born in Haiti and now serves on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, said she's "deeply disheartened" by the ban. In a statement, she called it "cruel and xenophobic" and a "blatant attempt to scapegoat an already suffering people." "This unjust policy will sow chaos in our communities, separating families, and disrupting lives," said Bastien, founder of Family Action Network Movement, a South Florida-based organization. The decision is a "betrayal of the values America claims to uphold – compassion, justice, and opportunity for all," she said. Haitians averaged 24,337 non-immigrant visas for the U.S. over a decade and Cubans averaged 12,464. Travel from the countries plunged during the pandemic but had begun to increase again by 2023. Haitians received 10,515 non-immigrant visas that year and Cubans received 6,146. Trump's proclamation stated he had directed the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and others to identify countries where the vetting and screening information is "so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension" of nationals of those countries into the U.S. and the group had found a number of countries deficient. Rubio, a South Florida native whose parents migrated from Cuba in 1956, shared on X a post from the White House, attributed to Trump: "We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen … That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya, and numerous others." USA TODAY looked at how many visas were distributed to foreign nationals from the countries in question over the past decade. A nonimmigrant visa is a temporary document, issued for tourism, temporary work, medical care, study or business. How many visitor's visas were issued? Combined, foreign nationals in the countries now facing travel bans accounted for fewer than 63,000 non-immigrant visas in 2023, the most recent year for which statistics are available. At least two dozen other countries not included in the ban each accounted for more visitor visas that year. While Venezuela leads all the 19 recently restricted countries in visitors to the U.S., Iranians received 17,634 non-immigrant visas in 2023, more than any of the dozen countries facing total travel bans. Myanmar, which U.S. documents recognize as Burma, received the next-most with 13,284. Here are the number of non-immigrant visas granted to nationalities of the other countries facing bans: Sudan, 4,506 Yemen, 4,204 Afghanistan, 2,665 Libya, 2,259 Congo Republic, 2,175 Chad, 2,090 Equatorial Guinea, 1,534 Eritrea, 931 Somalia, 463 Looking at the decade overall, Haitians topped the list, receiving the most non-immigrant visas among the banned countries at 243,369. Iran was second with 162,356 and Burma/Myanmar was third with 115,520. Among the countries facing travel restrictions rather than bans, foreign nationals from five of those – Sierra Leone, Togo, Laos, Turkmenistan and Burundi – received fewer than 8,500 non immigrant visas combined in 2023. Which country's residents received the most non-immigrant visas? Mexico led the world at 2.3 million non-immigrant visas in 2023. The figure also includes border crossing cards, laminated cards that allow Mexicans to cross the border between the nations for periods of less than 30 days. More than 1.3 million people planning to visit the U.S. from India received non-immigrant visas in 2023 and 1.06 million from Brazil. Other countries whose nationalities received the most visiting visas in 2023 include: Colombia, 476,293 China, 417,008 Argentina, 291,892 Ecuador, 274,799 Philippines, 285,860 Israel, 190,415 Vietnam, 133,781 Dominican Republic, 130,360 Turkey, 130,168 Nigeria, 113,695 Peru, 111,851 Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about climate change, violent weather and other news. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
‘I don't know why the president has this problem': Trump had a history of disparaging Haiti and Haitians before the travel ban
So when Haiti was included late Wednesday in a list of countries on which Trump was imposing a near-total travel ban, some saw a culmination of a long campaign against the population. Advertisement 'Donald Trump has been very consistent in his anti-Black racism, both domestically and globally, and when it comes to the country of Haiti, the people of Haiti, he has a long track record of vile, offensive, harmful rhetoric and policies,' said Boston Representative Ayanna Pressley, who co-chairs the congressional Haiti Caucus. 'It is just purely evil.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Florida Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost, who is of Haitian descent, echoed Pressley's comment that the travel ban is 'rooted in bigotry.' 'It does nothing to make our communities safer, but it does vilify immigrants,' Frost said in a statement. 'It will devastate our immigrant families across this country.' In response to Pressley's accusations, the White House called her assertions 'lazy, unfounded and just straight-up false.' Advertisement 'While President Trump is fulfilling his promise to unite the country and keep the American people safe, Pressley is desperate to divide us and smearing our heroic law enforcement officials in the process,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement, pointing to the rationale listed in the ban. Haiti is one of 12 countries facing a near-total ban on travel to the United States under Trump's new order, which cites an inability to vet immigrants for national security risks and a high rate of people overstaying their visas as justification for the measure. There are limited exceptions, including current visa-holders, permanent residents, dual nationals, athletic teams, and certain immediate family members of US residents. Other countries affected include Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. The move follows several other Trump administration actions that have had an impact on the Haitian community in the United States, including an early end to Temporary Protected Status protections for an estimated through the appeals process. Trump made similar moves in his first administration though most were ultimately blocked by the courts. The United States first granted Haitian migrants protection from deportation after the 2010 earthquake that devastated the country. Since then, a string of natural disasters and political conflicts have worsened conditions. Today, gang violence, crime, and instability are rampant on the island. Advertisement Amid the worsening situation, many Haitians sought refuge in the United States or came to join family here, either through the CHNV program, legal avenues, or without permission. Massachusetts has the third-largest population of Haitians in the US, including an estimated 15,000 who held TPS, But the influx of migration from Haiti has also spurred backlash, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, who was the only Democrat in the 2018 meeting with Trump's now-infamous comments, said he doesn't understand why Haiti seems to irk the president as it does. 'His hatred over Haiti is just impossible to explain,' Durbin said. 'I've been there many times. And this is one of the poorest nations on Earth, the poorest in our hemisphere, these people are suffering and need help, and they're wonderful people. I don't know why the president has this problem.' But Republicans defended Trump's actions and denied there was any animus behind it. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican who has backed pro-immigration policies in the past, was also in that 2018 meeting. And while Diaz-Balart declined to talk about what was said, he does not believe Trump has an issue with Haitians. Advertisement 'No, I don't,' he said. 'I really don't. I really, really don't.' His South Florida district is home to a large Haitian population and others affected by the CHNV and TPS reversals, including Cubans but he defended the travel ban. 'There are countries obviously that can't guarantee a process where we know that people are [vetted] to keep the country secure,' Diaz-Balart said. 'I don't think it's unreasonable.' Former Florida Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo, a moderate who was part of the immigration negotiations in 2018 that preceded the meeting, said Trump seems to prefer 'white-collar' immigrants or those whom Trump perceives to be have been recruited or have sufficient resources to come here. 'I don't think he understands or cares that those types of comments and campaigns unfairly mischaracterize hundreds of thousands of people at a time, and I don't think he understands that just because you're a refugee or an exile, that doesn't mean that you aren't capable of making major contributions to this country,' Curbelo said. Noting the Cuban exile community where he (and Diaz-Balart) hail from, Curbelo continued: 'It's people who had to leave their country, that was not their first choice, that was their only choice, and that doesn't preclude people from becoming exceptional Americans who do wonderful things.' Pressley, though, is convinced Trump's approach to Haitians is a concerted effort. She compared the trauma inflicted on the migrant community to the terror campaign of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan, saying it gets harder to fight back and project optimism when the actions layer on top of each other. 'It is terrorizing. It is terrifying. It is traumatic,' Pressley said. 'And it's just so intentional. ... Singling out Haitians, I mean, he's moved in a way that is obsessive and consistently, pointedly harmful.' Advertisement Tal Kopan can be reached at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Iran condemns ‘racist mentality' behind US travel ban
Iran has sharply criticised United States President Donald Trump's travel ban on its nationals and those of several countries, calling it 'racist' and a sign of deep-rooted hostility towards Iranians and Muslims. Trump earlier this week signed an executive order that bars and restricts travellers from 19 countries, including several African and Middle Eastern nations. The policy, set to take effect on Monday, echoes measures introduced during Trump's previous term in office from 2017-2021. In the executive order, Trump said he 'must act to protect the national security' of the US. Alireza Hashemi-Raja, who heads the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' department for Iranians abroad, said on Saturday that the decision reveals 'the dominance of a supremacist and racist mentality among American policymakers'. 'This measure indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people,' he said in a statement. The latest restrictions cover nationals from Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. A limited ban has also been applied to travellers from seven other argued that the policy breaches international legal norms and denies millions the basic right to travel, based solely on nationality or faith. He said the ban would 'entail international responsibility for the US government', without elaborating. The US and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980, following the Islamic Revolution. Despite decades of strained ties, the US remains home to the world's largest Iranian diaspora, with about 1.5 million Iranians living there as of 2020, according to Tehran's Foreign Ministry.
